Life.” However, there were very few other requirements, because Expo 2015 wanted to allow each
country to showcase its individuality.

“We were very careful in supplying countries
with only a limited number of rules in order to
allow for the maximum degree of freedom in their
interpretation of the theme,” says Matteo Gatto,
visitor experience and exhibition design director,
Expo 2015, Milan, Italy.

The team ensured effective communication from
start to finish by assigning each country that participated to an officer who served as a liaison between
the country and the project office. All primary
officers met almost daily to exchange status updates
on design, construction and even needs during the
actual event, Mr. Acbano says.

“Our continuous discussion allowed us to see any
potential scheduling conflicts or technical problems,” he says.

CEDING CONTROL

When pavilion construction began in December

2013, things got more intense for the project team.
Per the agreement, Mr. Acbano’s team had no
control over when each country’s work would start.
That created the risk that some pavilions wouldn’t
be ready when Expo 2015 opened on 1 May 2015.

“We had no power over these countries to meet

“We were very careful insupplying countries with onlya limited number of rules inorder to allow for the maximumdegree of freedom in theirinterpretation of the theme.”